Russian troops are said to have launched missions to wipe out top Ukrainian officials in the east of the country.
Regional leaders are constantly on the move to avoid death squads reminiscent of the ‘Red Terror’ carried out by Bolsheviks after the First World War, the police chief in the Luhansk part of the Donbas region revealed.
As the Kremlin hailed fresh advances, including taking Lyman, a city in the neighbouring Donetsk region, chief Oleg Grigorov said: “Heads of local administration, including myself, we are constantly on the move.
“The Russians are hunting for our heads, be it capture or outright liquidation.”
Putin’s forces are now in control of 95% of Luhansk.
Ukraine ’s President Volodymyr Zelensky called the situation “difficult”, but added: “Donbas will be in Ukraine because this is us, this is our essence. If Russia brings destruction and suffering there, we will still restore every city and community.”
Mr Grigorov said “indiscriminate” Russians are shooting at local residents, including children, with bodies being abandoned in the streets.
He added that locals who had chosen to stay had “nerves of steel”.
